Operation Stack... A lorry park would have boosted the UK's infrastructure

But worryingly, there is a sense in Whitehall that with the negotiations progressing well, there is not much point in rocking the boat by preparing for a no-deal scenario or spending money on things that might not ultimately be needed.

One of those intimately involved in no-deal planning complains that “there is an institutional reluctance to continue working on contingency in Whitehall”.

This is alarming. If the UK cannot walk away from the table, then its negotiating hand will be hugely weakened.

At Cabinet this week, I understand that Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, pointed out that however well the negotiations might be going, the UK must continue to prepare for all eventualities.

There are 300-odd government work streams trying to get the UK ready for a “no deal” scenario.

It is, those involved admit, “a battle against time” to get the necessary systems in place.

If the EU realises that Britain is easing off in its no-deal planning, then that will embolden it to take a particularly hard line in the negotiations — believing that the UK will have little choice but to accept the EU’s terms.

I understand that the worry with stepping up no-deal planning is that it would involve writing to businesses to tell them what they need to do to be ready for the UK leaving without a deal.

Theresa eyes seat in Lord's

THERESA MAY is to become a member of Marylebone Cricket Club, known to everyone as the MCC.

I understand the PM has now put her application in to join the storied club, which owns Lord’s cricket ground.

Opening the batting for May’s applications are two former Prime Ministers, John Major and David Cameron, who have proposed and seconded her.

But it is not yet clear if Mrs May will have to wait 27 years, like any other ­applicant, to wear the club’s famous eggs and bacon ­colours or whether she will be the next into the pavilion.

I am told that no decision has yet been taken on whether to fast-track her membership.

Tigger pick-me-up

ANDREA LEADSOM turned up to Cabinet this week with a cuddly toy.

The toy, Tigger from ­Winnie The Pooh, was a present for Chancellor Philip Hammond, who the Leader of the House is constantly urging to be more optimistic about the economy’s prospects post-Brexit.

Hammond, however, wasn’t at Cabinet this week.

And by the end of the session, ministers thought it was Leadsom who needed a Tigger pick-me-up as she warned there will be parliamentary gridlock unless departments send her their proposed Brexit ­legislation more quickly.

Culture ­Secretary Matt Hancock quipped, to giggles, they should give Tigger back to her as she wasn’t being optimistic enough.

Bercow must stick to speaker pledge

WHEN John Bercow stood for Speaker of the House of Commons, he said he would only do the job for nine years.
This pledge should see him stand down this June.

Bercow, though, has said that he no longer intends to keep to this ­commitment.

Instead, he wants to stay in the Speaker’s Chair until the next ­election – which would make him the longest serving Speaker of the post-war era.

But with the Westminster bullying scandal swirling around him, he would be well advised to revert to his original plan to leave the chair in June.

One senior backbencher, who until now has been supportive of Bercow, warns that, “It is going to end badly for him at some point” and so he would be well advised to go in June.

Indeed, if Bercow attempts to stay as Speaker for the rest of this parliament, he makes it more likely that he will end up facing a challenge to his position and having to leave in the most humiliating of circumstances.